Johnathan Paoli
Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan announced on Monday the resignation of Mpho Makwana as the Chairperson and Non-Executive Director of the Eskom Board at the AGM scheduled for the end of October.
Speculation has arisen regarding the relationship between Makwana and Gordhan, especially considering the recent rejection by Gordhan of the board’s nominations for a new CEO to replace Andre de Ruyter.
Makwana’s exit follows a number of recent resignations of SOEs executive members including Transnet group Chief Executive Portia Derby, the group CFO officer and executive director on the board, Nonkululeko Dlamini and Transnet Freight Rail CE Sizakele Mzimela.
Gordhan has denied the rumours of the resignations being a result of interference, saying the work the ministry is trying to achieve is subjected to deliberate distortions which are meant to sway the public from the progress being made.
No official reason has been given for Makwana’s resignation, and it comes just over a year after the businessman’s appointment as chairperson of the board.
Gordhan said that Mteto Nyati would be appointed as chairperson of the Board of Directors, with the former chair utilizing the remainder of the month in a handover process with Nyati.
Makwana expressed his gratitude for the opportunity from the government to serve a second term as chair, following his previous run in 2009/2010, saying that he wished the power utility and its people success and thanks for their efforts at reviving operations.
Gordhan expressed his best wishes for Makwana’s future endeavours, saying he was thankful for the former chair’s contribution to Eskom during one of its most difficult times.
The minister said that the efforts to stabilise Eskom and restructure it into the three subsidiaries of generation, transmission, and distribution “remain on track”.
“As a government we are committed to ensuring that Eskom has the right skills, talent, and experience to support our pursuit of a more secure energy future for South Africans,” Gordhan said.
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